EURO 2020/2021: Leonardo Spinazzola undergoes operation

yesterday 20:15
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Italian football defender Leonardo Spinazzola will undergo a torn Achilles operation on Monday. On Sunday, he flew from Rome Ciampino Airport to Finland, where he will undergo surgery by Sakari Orava, a specialist in this type of injury. Calciomercato.com portal informed about it.

Spinazzola seriously injured Achilles’ tendon in Friday’s quarter-final match EURO 2020 against Belgium (2: 1) and finished prematurely at the championship. The 28-year-old was injured when the ball came in from the right, but his shot hit the post after 77 minutes. Emerson Palmieri replaced him on the left side of the defense. The Italian media estimates that the rehabilitation will last six months.

“His injury was a hard blow to us. Now we think of only one thing – how we can please him and make him proud.” said midfielder Nicolo Barella. The Italians, who have been trying to win the first European Championship title since 1968, will have to deal with Spain in the semifinals against Spain without the fast-footed defender AS Roma. “We will do everything to get to the finals. We will fight for Leonard,” said Lorenzo Insigne, author of Italy’s second goal in the quarterfinals, according to AFP.

Spinazzol’s injury did not please even the new AS Rome coach Jose Mourinho. “It’s a terrible loss for Italy, but realize what it means to me. I won’t have it for six months.” Mourinho told TalkSport. “Squadra azzurra” has a quality replacement for the injured defender, but not completely equivalent according to Mourinho: “Emerson Palmieri is a good player, with a lot of experience. But Spinazzola played in an incredible way. We’re sorry about what happened to him and that he will have to pause for a few months. Unfortunately, football is still like that.”

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